At lower speeds there is more steering assistance but at upper speeds the steering is much heavier and thus I feel at one with the road! I am coming from a 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 4Matic, which had no steering feel what so ever. I opted for this option as I read that those without it felt steering was really heavy at lower speeds, which I did not want. However, I did want the steering to be heavier at upper speeds and thus this meets my needs.

Dealer test drive was an xdrive without Servotronic. The steering felt damped and moderately heavy. After driving a heavy old 2000 Accord for a long time, I would say it will not be a problem for a guy, if you're not habitually driving with single hand for that whirling action to make a 90 degree turn.

Non-servo xdrive is heavy for sure but it's excellent and not so heavy that it inhibits driving or tires you out. I have a broken wrist right now and it's somewhat difficult for me to turn the wheel all the way at slow speeds but when I'm healed I'm sure it will be fine.

I'm not a long term BMW driver. I'm coming over from a Honda CR-V. I test drove both a 2009 3 series wagon and the RWD X1 without Servotronic. The steering in the wagon was heavier than the X1. I mentioned that and the CA said he thought the X1 steering was lighter than the 3 series and "More Japanese". I found it acceptable given my Honda background and did not order Servotronic on my car. I'll be interested to see if I still feel that way after my car arrives and I get to drive it a bit.

I'm not a long term BMW driver. I'm coming over from a Honda CR-V. I test drove both a 2009 3 series wagon and the RWD X1 without Servotronic. The steering in the wagon was heavier than the X1. I mentioned that and the CA said he thought the X1 steering was lighter than the 3 series and "More Japanese". I found it acceptable given my Honda background and did not order Servotronic on my car. I'll be interested to see if I still feel that way after my car arrives and I get to drive it a bit.

Remeber that X1 sDrive28i has Electric Power Steering, while X1 xDrive28i and xDrive35i have Hydraulic Power Steering. I test drove a X1 sDrive28i without Servotronic. The sheering wheel is too light, even lighter than my Japaneses car (2001 I30). I do not like BMW's Electric Power Steering. So, I am going to order a X1 xDrive28i without Servotronic, for which the steering wheel feeling would be perfect.

No servotronic here (X-drive) and the steering is everything but heavy! You guys must be used to over-assisted steering if you think non-servotronic feels 'heavy'...

Remember you can't have any steering feel at all if it's over-assisted!

As for my X1: not bad feedback at all (as hoped, i did switch to x-drive at the last moment just after reading that it had the hydrolic steering), this morning on a damp mountain road outside Salzburg I could actually feel the 4wd in the front wheels just barely starting to work (it was just a tiny tiny bit since I'm still completely babying the car and going quite slow because it's only 1 day and 200 km old ).

We do sell 90% of the X1 here in Switzerland with Servotronic, actually it is even standard as it is offered in an equippment package.
The X1 is no sports car, it is a Crossover, and often the wifes car (as it is my case) so the Servotronic is just fine, even I would not want one without.
As previously said I recommend it on the 4cyl. models (never tested the 35i as it is not available here). Maybe there is a difference in steering feel with the 35i but for the other X drive models the steering is very hard by todays (european) standarts.

I like heavy feel and don't like 4WD, I was hoping that the servotronic would tighten up the steering, but I guess it's the opposite: (

I can chime in here. You're in luck because I have sDrive w/ Servo and I believe it's heavier than w/o Servo. I say I think bec I've only drive the non-sevo sDrive once and it was definitely too light. W/ the Servo it's a LOT better, but still a bit light when slow and slightly artificial; at speeds over 50 MPH it's very nicely weighted.

I'd definitely try to drive both to confirm my impressions before you order.

After I found out the sDrive was definitely going to have EPS I immediately thought that I got suckered into paying for nothing since Servo is nearly free to implement (software mostly). I assumed all BMW EPS systems have Servo, why not?, most of their other cars have it standard. Only in the X1 do they have Servo as an option and that's bec they wanted customers to pay for the added expense of Servo associated with the hydro system, mandatory on all xDrives. If it weren't for hydro steering I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have the Servo option and it would just be Standard. So, perhaps the software code IS different if you order Servo for the the sDrive (EPS only), but the upcharge, though worth it, is still a rip off.

Test drove an X1 28i without Servotronic and with Servotronic yesterday. Without Servotronic is an awesome feel! If it's for your wife I'd recommend getting it, but if it's for you DON'T. It's not that heavy and you'll feel the car and road underneath you much better. When one thinks: " what should a car that handles fantastically should feel like" it's the X1 without Servotronic. You won't regret it. I think a woman who has driven a car with light steering all her life- 95+% out there may find the non- Servotronic option a bit too heavy.